Cyborg vs The Renegade
by skyeblue104
Summary: I'm just a normal college girl out for a morning hike when suddenly I am kidnapped and put into a cyborg body in the Mass Effect Universe. As if it wasn't enough that I am now in a new body and far ahead in the future but then I found out that *gasp* Shepard is a Renegade! Oh hell no. P.s. Will contain language and spoilers for all three games P.p.s Reposting more info inside
1. Chapter 1: My brand new shiny body

In the back woods of Pennsylvania, the squirrels run away when they see me coming their way. I am average in height but probably intimidating to a squirrel with my long red hair tied back and blue eyes shining from the morning hike. I have always enjoyed these times when I could escape college pressures and just focus on nature. I'm no hippy but there is something infinitely calming about walking through an old English forest with only the birds for company.

These times are especially appreciated after a conversation with my dad. Normally, I would sit down and play my favorite game, Mass Effect, when I am stressed but when it comes to my dad...well it takes a little more than that. In order to avoid these thoughts, I turn right towards where I know is an outlook over the valley. The Poconos might not be huge but they certainly look big from the overlook where I stop for breakfast. I was so absorbed in looking at the view and eating I didn't even notice the whirring of my fate closing in.

Looking up from my peanut butter and banana sandwich I came face to face with a small floating orb. "That looks exactly like Glyph in Mass effect 3 or 343 guilty spark in halo hmmm," before I could wonder anymore a light shine from its center enveloping me in a stasis field. My last thought was, " definitely from Mass Effect," before i was knocked out. I faded in and out of consciousness but only distantly registering cold and then some pain but not enough to awaken.

The next time i tried to draw in a deep breath my lungs filled with water and that did get my full attention. Looking around desperately, i struggled not to breathe anymore while noticing that i was in some sort of tank filled with syrupy liquid. About to pass out from lack of oxygen, the tank lid opened and i try to take a step and steady myself but my legs give and i collapse on the floor. "I am definitely going to have bruises from that," i think distantly and then the visions hit. Protheans. Scientists. This was a lab. Something being made in the tank. Scientists celebrating. The VI leaving. The scientists leaving. The VI returning with me in stasis. The VI programming the body in the tank. The body becomes a beautiful woman with red hair. Me being put in a second tank hooked up to the first. The beautiful woman waking up.

The visions suddenly stop there and I am so dizzy from my near death experience I can't seem to make sense of what just happened. One minute I am eating breakfast in the forest and the next I end up in...a...tank. Realizing I had my eyes closed tight and that's no way to see anything I slowly opened them as I feel a dull headache coming on probably from the combination of my head hitting the floor and the visions. Which are most likely also related.

As my eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light in the room I noticed that I was in some lab either deep inside a building since it had no windows or which was underground. Since the horizontal angle was doing nothing for my persisting headache I slowly moved to sit criss-cross applesauce on the cool floor. When my vision cleared from the pain that minimal movement caused I saw the same evil floating VI floating in front of me. If a ball could look concerned it certainly did a good job of it, "Are you injured? It may take some time to adjust to this new form, this unit recommends walking to get used to this new form."

My subconscious had been clambering about this being true ever since those visions but my conscious self had been valiantly trying to warn those thoughts off until the VI spoke up in that irritating mechanical voice. Now I had no choice but to accept facts. Despite hitting my head I had no doubt those visions were real for they felt too ...alive for them not to be true. Deciding my headache had abated enough for me to attempt standing, I slowly rose to a standing position with help of a handy guardrail. From this higher vantage point I could see the whole room and it did nothing to disprove what the visions and the VI had implied.

There were two tanks at the back if the room separated by a guardrail and multiple tubes and wires connecting the two. On the left was a terminal with data streaming across it and next to it were multiple screens. On the right were tables full of lab equipment which I just didn't have the stomach to look at just yet. At the front of the room was what looked like a door straight from the ME universe but it wasn't lit up. I decided to take the VI up on its suggestion and tried walking. After getting half way across the room I decided it safe enough to let loose one of the many questions plaguing my mind, "Why does this room have power?" Not one of the most important question by far but for some reason I just didn't want to confront the elephant in the room just yet. Strange, because usually I am very outgoing and I have no problem with just going up to people or asking the questions that people are avoiding but this one seems a little too big and a little too close for that kind of approach.

The room lit up as I started to move around but I mostly just concentrated on walking to look at anything in particular. The VI, which did not seem to have a name so I called it Marcus or Marc for short, explained that there was reserve power on hold for this moment in time. I had a hard time mastering walking in…I hate to say…my new body. While I practiced, Marc informed me that the protheans who made this body had put a tracking chip in the data that contained the plans for a device that destroyed the Reapers and when the data has been accessed he, Marc that is, was supposed to put me in my new shiny body. I started to panic somewhat because I was wondering if the reapers were already here and Shepherd had gotten hold of the plans for the Crucible yet. I quickly interrupted Marc and asked for the date. "Its February 18th 2179," he replied in a slightly annoyed tone for being interrupted. I simply ignored him as he continued to ramble on about how hard it was to make me and how long he waited and blah blah blah.

I just continued moving my legs until I mastered the art of walking then jumping then jogging since the chamber was too small for any decent running. When I finished I only heard the last part of his monologue about how he will be uploaded to my memory and to help monitor me. That part finally ticked me off. Not only did I have to be ripped from my time my family my friends and even MY BODY but I also had to have a little VI monitoring my every move? I don't think so. Turning to the floating globe I shook my finger at it yelling, " You will do no such thing! I have had enough of you and the stupid protheans, you drag me all over time and space put me into a different body and then you want to put a strange technology into my head to 'monitor' me? Well fuck you that is just not happening and I am leaving before you sickos decide to do anything else to me." With that I stomped off to the far wall where I remember seeing a panel but was stopped before I could do anything by his next words.

" I already am uploaded I just appear in this form for ease of communication. Also, I see that your biotics are working perfectly, right on schedule," he finished with a very smug voice that made me want to shoot him but instead made my previously ignored green biotics flare up some more. I stared at my glowing aura in a mix of horror and fascination just not believing my eyes. Sitting down with a dull 'thump' on the smooth floor I put my head on top of my folded up knees thinking over everything that just happened.

Obviously, I am not in my own body. Considering the protheans scientists hadn't considered clothes a priority I am now naked and could easily see all the differences. I had no scars or blemishes and my legs are longer than they were before, I used to be around 5'4" but now I am around 5'9", thus my trouble walking. I have light tan skin and long curly red hair that reaches just below my shoulders. Since I have no mirror that is about all I can tell for now. Going over what happened since I woke up in the tank, it all seems so fuzzy but I then remember clearly what Marc had said about the date and the crucible. The date was way too early for Mass Effect 3, after doing some basic math I realised it was 4 years before ME 1. This didn't seem to make sense with what Marc had said about the crucible data being accessed...unless...I do remember that the last of the mars rovers had landed on the mars a few months before... had that been the discovery of the prothean facility on mars? That doesn't make sense because it wasn't until 2184 according to the game that we discovered the stuff on Mars. Did our government keep it secret or did the VI just get it wrong? What did make sense that if he had captured me in 2012 then it would take a few hundred years to get here, thereby explaining the current date. I remember reading about that in the sci-fi book Enders Game which I guess is not so sci-fi anymore.

Next on my list to confront is my biotic abilities I guess. While I was playing the game I always picked a Shepard with some biotic abilities because I secretly wished I could have them, I never thought it would come true. I am guessing my abilities aren't confined to what the game has but that doesn't mean I know the first thing about how to use them. Which brought my quickly panicking mind to the last thought: I was stuck in a video game...which I guess is the real future...naked...in a small chamber obviously underground ...in a brand new shiny body that not only has biotics but also a VI in its brain with probably some other scary stuff that I haven't found out yet...yeah I am definitely fucked.

I don't know how long I sat there sobbing into my knees with Marc making worried whirring noises and circling around my head but when I finally calmed down I felt much better. It has always been my policy that when I hit a wall I will only allow myself to cry once then I will force my sorry ass to get up and scale that wall because there will always be walls and its harder to climb back up when your down than it is to just stay up. ..or something like that. Anywho crying won't help me and it also makes me cranky and then no ones happy. So I get up looking hopefully around for any clothes bu give that up for a lost cause and head to the panel again. "Is there a way out of here Marc?" I ask the little VI and when it doesn't reply right away I turn to where it floating behind me, "something wrong little guy?"

It looks up at me saying, " this unit will now respond to the name of Marc but you have also responded unexpectedly quickly to this unusual situation and this unit wonders why?" I stare at what I had considered a VI up until this point but am now considering to be a partially formed AI and responded, " well I am adaptable and very realistic. At first it seems like I have been completely screwed with, which I have, and have absolutely no hope but looking closer this is not true. I know what is going to happen generally and I have four years to prepare for those events and set myself to intercept Shepard and join his/her team. I can learn to be a medic or maybe a combat medic so I can join the ground team. With my biotics and four years to prepare I should be ready to help because that why the protheans made me right? They wanted someone who knew what was going to happen to help Shepard?"

With that the VI/AI looked a little concerned and went over to a screen on the side of the room where a video began to play. On it 3 protheans stood looking at the camera and it was hard to tell who was male or female but the middle one spoke sounding distinctly masculine, "Hello we are the leaders in your creation and have made this recording to help explain your purpose. It is too late for our people to defeat the reapers but with the passing of the plans for the crucible and your creation we hope to give your cycle the best chance. We know that the crucible will be able to make organics and synthetic one but for that to happen a person would need to be sacrafised. Taken from your time you will have no connection to anyone and nothing holding you back. Your body is the best both organic and synthetic can offer. You will be the bridge and the future for the whole galaxy. The AI that was supplied will have downloaded the latest combat training to your synapses allowing you to be a military leader among your people and have the necessary command to prepare for the coming war. Everything you need has been handed to you don't fail or another cycle will fall to the reapers."

That bastard sounded like i should be kissing his feet as if he hadn't ripped me from everything. I lashed out punching the screen and to my surprise broke right through it instead if receiving a hurt hand. Okay so super strength is now added to my list. Marc took the hint and just quietly opened the elevator doors. On the looong elevator ride I learned that I had sub-dermal translator uploaded with all the alien languages but since I was made from protheans I inherently knew their language thanks to that touch thing Javik demonstrates in ME 3. Mine is much weaker with that sort of thing only happening when I am seriously concentrating or very tired. That would explain my visions and subsequent headache earlier.


	2. Chapter 2: Suntanning my butt off

Hello, I realize that in my first chapter I totally didn't write a note to all the folks reading, my bad. =) Well this is my first story for fanfiction and I'm doing it solo so please pardon any grammar or spelling mistakes. I start college in a few weeks so I will try to get as much of the story out before then. Also, since from this chapter on Marc will mostly be residing in side my head I will use _italics_ for his thoughts and **bold** for my own. Otherwise, thanks for reading. =)

I don't own Bioware or Mass Effect and if I did, I would be fabulously wealthy and totally awesome.

Chapter 2: Suntanning my butt off

I am sure the look on my face was enough to make even Lucy laugh on "I Love Lucy" for a desert was totally not what I was expecting. Sand? Check. Incredibly hot temperatures? Check. Developing a sun burn from just standing there naked with my mouth open? Double check. Yep, I am definitely in a desert. I grew up my whole life surrounded by forest so I don't the first thing about surviving in a desert let alone a desert on a random planet in the middle of a gigantic galaxy. Before I could consider turning around so my backside (hehe) could get an equal tan I heard the sound of a ship approaching.

I stepped out of the elevator, which turned out to be at the front of an ancient temple, and saw a shuttle heading my way. I recognized the writing on the side to be asari and my conclusion that the shuttle is from an asari ship proved correct when 5 asari stepped out of the now landed hover craft. They seemed like soldiers not the scientists I would expect to be interested in a Prothean site. They could be looters…or they could be my only ticket out of this desert. Considering my options were practically nonexistent I decided to wave my arms and draw their attention. If they shot at me: they're looters, and if they did not: most likely government military.

Waving my arms in the air, I quickly garnered their attention and three of the asari ran over, without shooting me may I add. I have never been the best at telling people's ages and even in the game most of the asari looked alike. What I could tell is that the asari in the middle was in charge and all three were completely flummoxed as to why a naked human was walking out of some Prothean ruins. Drawing up a few feet in front of me the light blue asari in front of me spoke up, "What are you doing here on Asteria? Where is your ship? And by the goddess, why aren't you wearing any clothes?!"

Feeling very self-conscious and turning a bright lobster red like most red heads do I stammered, " I..I... don't know where I am or how I got here…I remember being at home…bu...But then I woke up here and I wanted to get out of the sun so I hid in here." At this a dark blue asari to my right spoke up and addressed her leader, "Niara, I have grown up here and been to these ruins countless times. There was no opening here just an elaborate carving. Perhaps this girl was taken by slavers and when they came by here they may have set something off causing the energy readings we saw."

Internally, I am blessing the high heavens that this nice asari provided me with a convenient back story. When the light blue asari looked my way again, Niara I believe, I ran with it, "I honestly don't remember, what happened. One second I am on Earth sleeping and the next thing I know I wake up here. Please don't leave me here." I didn't mean to sound so desperate at the end but I couldn't really stop the feeling of hopelessness that started to surround my thoughts.

At my words, Niara shook her head, "I wouldn't leave anyone here let alone someone so defenseless and without clothes." I smiled a little at her words and when they turned to go back to the shuttle I followed. While we got in the air, I was handed a thermal blanket from the med kit to cover myself with. Going around the cabin Niara introduced me to the 4 other asari: Diath, Tanra, Rega, Lilith, and Rebecca. At such a familiar name I looked up startled to meet the eyes of a pale purple asari sitting next to the pilot, "My father was human and named me after his mother."

I smiled and went back to staring at the shuttle. In all three games one never saw too much of the shuttle there being none in the first game and all. I was like being in a small but bulletproof airplane. The 10 minute ride back to the asari ship was spent with Niara asking me how much I remember: nothing; is there anyone I would like to contact: no one; and then updating me on where I was. Apparently, the Prothean ruins were on Asteria outside a main settlement and the whole system is in asari space. Niara is actually the captain of a small frigate and was stopping on Asteria for supplies while heading back to Thessia when their scanners picked up abnormal activity at the dig site. They hadn't seen any other ships but the Prothean ruins still carried mini mass effect fields that could disrupt tracking radar.

Their frigate looked exactly like the Normandy from the view through the front window but inside the layout definitely was all asari. Everything was clean and smooth but there was no big galaxy map only a central command station with surrounding terminals. The whole crew was obviously asari and I became quite the spectacle walking along in only a blanket and being the only human on board. The layout overall was like the Normandy Sr-1 so the med bay was where it was supposed to be. Instead of a Dr. Chakwas, I saw a light blue asari in a lab coat. "Rinka, we found this girl at the Prothean dig site. We believe she was captured by slavers and drugged for she has no memory of the time since she was captured. We will continue on to Thessia and on our way there she can figure out where she wants to go," Niara left quickly leaving me and the doctor alone.

Smiling gently at me Rinka directed me to sit on one of the beds, "What is your name and how old are you?" Trying to sit comfortably without flashing the nice doctor I replied, "My name is Eva Miller and I am 19." Sensing my discomfort, Dr. Rinka closed the shutters giving me some privacy while she walked back over with a med kit in hand. In the bright lights of a medical room one could see I had a few scrapes and bruises from my fall out of the tank and subsequent jog around the room. I was expecting lots of questions and made up answers but the whole time she was cleaning my cuts and applying medi-gel she was silent. "_What are you planning to do from here?"_ Just about jumping out of my skin from the unknown voice in my head I startle the doctor while she was in the middle of looking at a bruise on my hip.

Giving her a small smile to show I was fine, I sent out a question to the voice I really didn't want in my head, "**Marcus what are you doing in my brain and when did you get in there? Stop scaring me like that!"** "_I assumed that you would not want the asari who picked you up to know about me so I went back inside your head. I also informed you back at the lab that I have been in your brain since you woke up so I do not know why you are so surprised,"_ the small mechanical that spoke back sounded slightly injured that I hadn't remembered every word it spoke. "**From now on please do something to indicate that you will start talking…like make the pinging sound people do when they log on to Facebook? Also, any reference to you being inside my head is strictly forbidden got that? I will go insane if I have to think too deeply about an AI being inside my head; just say you are going back home or something."** Apparently, the doctor had finished my check up and was putting her supplies away when I heard his reply, "_PING. Your concerns have noted."_

When I finally had silence in my head I realized that the good doctor was standing leaned up against her desk and staring at me. It seems I would need to speak first, "Please don't send me back to Earth." The asari looked vaguely surprised that was the first thing I said and for a second I was surprised too. That was not what I had meant to say but there it is. "Niara made it clear before she left that you may go where you wish. It seems she is taking some sort of responsibility for you and where you wish to go she will take you," the doctor spoke in an even but authoritative voice. I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding, "Thank you, there is nothing there for me anymore. It's just…I don't have anywhere else to go." As I spoke a single tear ran down my face for I had realized that everyone I knew was dead and gone and there truly was nothing for me. I sniffed and wiped my nose on the blanket and looked into the eyes of the asari.

She seemed to be making sure before she turned around and gathered a bundle of clothes from a closet in the corner. "Change into these and rest. I will leave and give you some privacy. Feel free to choose a bed. I will return when you wake up." I grabbed the clothes and after she left I got dressed in a loose shirt and pants that seemed to be military issue. Picking a bed in a back corner I lay down and just got comfortable when I realized the lights were still on. Just as I was about to get up and go across the whole room to turn them down Marc spoke up, "_PING. I can remotely access the light controls if you wish."_ Laying back down I replied, "**Thanks Marc that would be a lot of help…do you keep running while I am asleep?"** "_PING. Yes, I am not connected to the part of your brain that sleeps…I mean my house is not close by and I will continue to be active while you are asleep." "__**Good. Then can you alert me if anyone is sneaking up on me while I sleep with the attempt to harm me? Wake me up so I can run or something."**__ "PING. Concerns noted." "_**Have I mentioned how much I hate that pinging sound?"** With that I fell asleep before he could reply and had a very uneventful night.


	3. Chapter 3: Green eggs and biotics

Chapter 3: Green eggs and biotics?

I woke up to a dark room. Well…mostly dark for there was still soft lights underneath each bed, along the floor, around the door and at her desk. For all that however, I could still barely see my hand in front of my face. "**Hey Marc can you do something about these lights?**"

The only response was the lights slowly turning on. I got up with the intention of finding the bathroom but before I could move more than 3 feet, the doors swooshed open revealing Niara and Dr. Rinka. At first glance the two asari would look exactly alike both being light blue and well, asari, but on closer inspection Niara has a more intricate pattern of markings on her face probably showing her to be older or something.

They seemed a little surprise to see me up and about but I just smiled, "Good morning and thank you for everything you did yesterday. I'm not sure I said that before and I don't want to seem rude." Dr. Rinka smiled back and approached to make sure I was feeling better. Niara stopped a couple feet away. "I realize this might be a little abrupt but I did a background check on you. The results were…interesting to say the least." Nervously, I looked at the captain trying to gauge whether she was angry and how much she really knew. "When I checked for missing human women by the name of Eva Miller, I only received a handful by that name in the last few decades. The only picture that even came close to your likeness was from the year 2012. What is going on?"

While she spoke I stared at my hands desperately trying to form a likely story. Deep down I wanted to trust these kind people who took me in and gave me clothes. However, the voice of reason I have always had inside my head, even before I received an AI, told me to err on the side of caution. "I was born and raised on the streets. I had a family that took me in for a few years but…let's just say they won't miss me now that I am gone," I spoke in a small quiet voice.

The story is far from true but close enough that I don't feel like a total ass for lying. In the game, no one questioned Shepard's background and whenever she spoke of it people always seemed to shy away from the topic. As cruel as it sounds, I honestly hoped my story sounded bad enough that they would leave it alone.

Looking slightly uncomfortable, my plan seemed to work when Niara and Dr. Rinka did drop the topic. Not that my success stopped the Sledgehammer of Guilt that wacked me up top the head when they did. "Well...I'm sorry to hear that…is there any where that you would like to go?" The doctor asked me kindly and I saw no judgment in her eyes on compassion. I am going to rot in hell for lying to these people I know it.

Considering the question though, if I was feeling this bad about lying to people I have no hope to become the military leader the protheans wanted me to be. Their plan was sound except for the tiny detail of my morals. I have four years until the events of Mass Effect 1 and in that time I have to find a way to be useful to Shepard.

Niara took my silence for what it was: me being completely lossed, "You don't have to decide right this minute. We have two days until we are on Thessia, two to three days there and then we will be off. I can lend you some credits until you are on your feet and stable, if that is what you are worrying about." Glancing up at the standing asari, I blurted out what was in my head, "I have biotics! And I don't want to kill people! But I want to be in the Alliance!"

Both women(?) looked amused at my outburst and Dr. Rinka even cocked an eyebrow. "Do you know how to use your biotics, Eva? Even for humans you are a little too old to be joining the typical military but I am sure they have an open door policy to trained biotics," the doctor spoke with a certain amusement in her voice that didn't make me feel older than 4 years old.

I decided to answer her question by trying to lift a book she had placed on a bed three beds down. I achieved my goal of lifting the book…but I also brought along all three beds too. I saw in the game what biotics could do but that did nothing to prepare me for what they could do in real life. Back home I would be considered "fit" by my peers but even I could not lift 3 beds and a book at once.

Looking side to side to see if the two asari were just a impressed as I was I found that they were a little too shocked for it to be comforting. I quickly put everything down asking, "I'm sorry. I only found out I had biotics recently and I have no idea how to control them." However, I was sadly mistaken if I thought they were concerned about me lifting a few beds. Dr. Rinka did not beat around the bush, "By the Goddess why are your biotics green?! In all my years I have never read or seen anything like this!" Niara for her part still looked a little stunned.

A thought was quickly forming in my brain so to not seem rude I quickly answered, "I don't know. I only got them recently." Inside my head I was having a whole different conversation: "Hey, Marcus, did the protheans give me an instruction manual on how to use my biotics? You know, like how the girl in the Matrix learned how to fly a helicopter in 2 seconds; just like that." "PING. No they did not. My creators believed that giving you the theory of biotics would only confuse you since your body would not be able to use what would be in your head." "Ummm…why not?...and wait there is an instruction manual?!" "PING. Accessing your memory banks…Example A: for the past 3 years you have taken self-defense classes. At the beginning, your instructor demonstrated how to punch a punching bag. When you tried you hurt your wrist. It wasn't until you practiced over and over did it become a 'muscle memory'. Would you like another example?" "No I think I get it. So to become an all-powerful biotic god (hehe) I actually have to do some work?" "PING. Correct."

Silently laughing inside my head, I couldn't keep a small smile from my face that Niara quickly caught, "What is so funny?" Backpedaling, because I couldn't possibly tell her about the conversations I have with the voice inside my head, I just shrugged, "My whole life I have thought biotics were pretty cool for all that they could do. Now that I am one, I feel sort of special."

Before she could reply to that the pilot called in over the intercom asking for Niara's help. Before she left she said, "I will consider what I have learned here and what you have said. There are quite a few people who owe me favors and I may be able to get you a job for the Alliance or C-Sec. " I thanked her as she left and turned to Dr. Rinka to see what she was making of all this. Her face looked concerned and curious all at the same time, "Why don't you go get something to eat and walk around a little bit. I will do some research on green biotics and perhaps also think of some ideas of where you can go. Niara is not the only one with contacts." I also thanked her and went out to the deserted kitchen area right outside the med-bay leaving the good doctor to type away at her terminal.

Looking into the fridge I realized I was ravenous. Apparently, biotics took it right out of you for I ate 3 whole peanut butter and jelly sandwiches along with a fruit that looked vaguely like an apple. While eating I considered how to get on the Normandy crew.

The original Alliance crew was the best of the best and I could see no way I would become a part of the crew that way. First, I am too old because unless the starting age changed from 18 I am one year behind the normal recruit. Second, I could complete standard training in 4 years but that would not be enough to get me on the Normandy. Third, I am no soldier.

Before I was carted off by a maniacal AI, I had wanted to be a doctor. Instead, I was in school to be a medical technician assistant because there was barely enough money from my parents for me to pay for food and lodging let alone full tuition. I already had loans out and going to medical school just was not an option. Here in this time that dream might not be as far-fetched. I could enroll with the military so that if they paid for med school I would then work for them. Back home, I wouldn't even think about joining the military but here that was my only option if I wanted to get close to Shepard. It is a little sad if you think about it: Right now when I am in a diffferent body, different time and absolutely broke I think I have more options than when I was back home.

Shaking off such morbid thoughts for later date I inspected the idea that had present itself, from all angles to find any holes. Assuming that there was a school that taught field medics, I could accompany Shepard as part of the ground crew. I had four years after all which should be plenty of time to train. I could even use my biotics if things got hairy in a fight.

Later that day, well whatever constitutes a day on a starship, I presented my idea to Niara, pretty darn pleased with myself. It took her all of 2 seconds to pop my bubble, "You do know you will have to use a gun and shoot people right?" I leaned back in the chair I was sitting in in her personal quarters, a little taken aback. Niara put her elbow on the desk and leaned her head on her fist looking at me from the side as if that would help solve this problem. "It is a good plan but it would require you to kill on occasion depending on the mission and who you are under. I believe that was one of the three things that were on your list: no killing, correct?"

Crestfallen, I nodded and stared at my hands in my lap, again at a lost for what to do. A silence began to build in the room and just when I began to squirm Niara asked a question I was avoiding, "Why are you so intent on joining the military when you don't wish to kill? On starships, even fully trained doctors have some combat training and all though they might not wish to kill, they are fully prepared to if the need arises."

All though I could not tell her the full truth, I told Niara as much as I could, "I want to be a medic and serve under Commander Shepard. I read on the extranet that he will most likely have his own ship in about 4 years at the pace he is raising through the ranks. Have you heard of him?" Mentally, I patted myself on the back for being almost perfectly truthful. I was even able to alert Niara to the time limit I have without sounding like a mystic. YAY.

Niara looked at me with a strange expression in her eyes, "Yes…I have heard of him. He is the Butcher of Torfan and one of the deadliest humans alive, apparently. I am surprised you are so interested in him but to each they're own, I suppose." It took a lot of self will not to let my mouth drop open at that. The Butcher of Torfan? Really? I almost never picked the renegade options unless it's one of those flashing ones you can't seem to escape clicking. If it was a kind, paragon Shepard I could easily talk my way on to the ship but a renegade Shepard made it clear she did not want anyone on the ship.

"I respect him and admire his courage… He…He seems like a good leader…" I stammered out. Then what she said in its entirety it me. Shepard is a guy?

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oo


	4. Chapter 4: The path less traveled

Hello! I know I told you last chapter that I was going to make my voice bold and Marc's voice italics but then I discovered the wonders of the enter key. So now whenever Marc is speaking he will "PING" and I won't. Sorry for the delay I have just had to work things out for college.

Chapter 4: The path less traveled

Realistically, I know that back in my time 90% of the Shepards gamers made were male and even then the odds of the real Shepard being male are 50/50. I acknowledge this but what I don't want to acknowledge is that the odds did not come in my favor. In high school my best friend Emily would say I have boy-phobia. For practically my whole life if a boy comes within 5 feet of me I automatically start blushing.

The grade of how red I turn depends on my relationship with said boy. If he is a friend, I will only turn a little pink in the face and if he is a new acquaintance I will probably have the color of a tomato across my cheeks. The worst, however, is if the boy is someone I am interested in, say romantically, then I am doomed for everything from my neck up to turn a bright shade of boiled lobster.

Oh but it doesn't stop there. The scale of how much I stutter rises equally with how much I like said boy. It seems I have managed passably well so far to carry out a decent conversation with the asari because they look female to me. I don't have a crush on Shepard but I would be hard pressed not to act like a raving fan girl even if he was female. Because, face it: any die-hard Mass Effect fan with the actual Commander Shepard standing in front of them would be hard pressed not to fall into a blubbering pile of adoration.

Anyone else in my shoes would probably not be too concerned with the fact that Shepard is a Renegade but I am. Personally, I believe that actions are usually more powerful than words and so what Shepard does matters just as much as his end results. It matters to me at least. I know the best chance I have of even getting near Citadel at the end of Mass Effect 3 is slim; being the nobody I am now, the possibility raises a lot more if I am near Shepard. But how am I supposed to follow someone into battle if I don't trust them and agree with them?

Denial starts to slip when I next hope that maybe he really is a paragon or even just a paragade and the Torfan thing was just a slip up. Right? I have been a little too distracted recently to look him up on the extranet so there is still hope!

Niara had turned back to her desk and seemed to be typing a message when I returned from my mental conversation. I have to get better at multi-tasking pretty soon or someone will think I am loony just staring into space. While she was typing, I noticed she had a gold bracelet on her arm that had carvings along it in asari and seemed to glow a little with what I guessed was eezo.

She noticed I seemed to be back and finished her message quickly, "I believe I have found a solution for you. If you are okay with it, I have an apartment on Thessia that I barely use and you could stay in. There is a military medical training facility within the city where you can study military medicine. The whole program will take you 8 years plus another 2 for training. This facility caters to all Council races so you will be learning medicine for asari, salarian, turian, human, and even krogan if you wish. That is why the program takes longer…why is your mouth hanging open? Is something wrong?"

Quickly, I shut my mouth so fast I think I hurt my teeth. That made it a little painful to talk next, "I'm just not used to such a long time. That is 10 years! For an asari 10 years may be nothing, no offence, but that is about an eighth of a normal human life span. Normally it is four years just to study human anatomy. I know it makes sense logically for the time to be extended to include more races but how does anyone do that?" I was justly very confused and more than a little panicked.

Giving a small laugh and a smile that lit up her whole face, Niara just replied simply, "Most medics are only trained in their own species or sometimes one other but not usually any more than that. Asari take advantage of the fact that they have longer lives by studying all races. The theory is that since the asari one of the dominant races in the galaxy their medics should know how to take care of everyone. Personally, I agree that it is a little absurd and quite a long time. Before you enroll you could talk to the people there and see if you can only take classes for human anatomy and maybe one other race if you choose."

Feeling much more content, I leaned back in the chair with a sigh realizing I had been leaning forward before in my confusion. I then blushed realizing I probably sounded like a kid and that I should have figured that much out on my own.

Before I could apologize she continued on, "Now about your biotics. There are many options depending on what you want to do with them. If you would like to just get a handle on them and learn the basics there are community classes for all ages run by the city. You humans have something similar…the YMCA correct?... Considering that you want to be a part of some sort of combat you will need some more advanced training. The medical school I was talking about will only make you take combat training if you are going to join the asari military…"

The door behind me swished open interrupting Niara to reveal Dr. Rinka. She walked right up behind Niara's chair and leaned against it. I noticed that she had the same bracelet on her wrist and I wondered if it was a friendship bracelet. "I have an idea on that part if you don't mind the interruption," Dr. Rinka spoke in her soft spoken voice. Niara smiled up at the other woman, "Don't worry, I was just telling Eva here about the medical school and apartment. Do you have an idea?"

Giving a small, soft smile back Dr. Rinka nodded, "My sister Shira is in charge of teaching commando recruits. Eva, you will start off at a disadvantage since the others will know how to do the basics but if you take some community classes for a week or two you should be able to catch up in no time. They will teach you how to create barriers, throw, lift and generally tear people apart with your biotics. You may not have need for all the skills you learn but you will be safer and much more confident going into a battle knowing them."

For a few seconds I just stared at the two asari in front of me wondering how there could be people this kind in a galaxy I knew was full of people that were anything but. They obviously had gone to great lengths to find me what I wanted instead of what I needed and they had not even requested payment. "I promise," I said with misty eyes, "I will pay you back for your kindness and all of the credits I owe you."

They just laughed and then Dr. Rinka herded me out Niara's office to find something to eat and let the captain get back to work. While I ate several sandwiches, Dr. Rinka explained to me that I could use the observation deck to practice using and controlling my biotics while also being out of way of the crew for the next few days.

As I finished eating Dr. Rinka grabbed a pillow and an extra omni-tool from the med bay and showed me the way to the observation deck. On the way she showed me how to put on the omni-tool. I tried to act like I knew what I was doing but my bulging eyes at actually being able to use an omni-tool might have given me away.

In the observation deck, we both sat down and she showed how to breathe from my diaphragm through my mouth and out through my nose. I quickly fell back into the familiar motion and as calm relaxation washed over me memories came to the front of my mind unbidden: Breath in, one *punch*, breath out, two *punch*, breathe in, one *kick*, breath out, two *jab*, laughter, chocolate brown eyes, soothing smile. Ripping myself away from the memories like a sleeve that was caught in the door I saw Dr. Rinka startle out of her rhythm.

"Is something wrong?" she asked in a suitably distressed voice. I smiled, a little embarrassed, "No I just sucked in air the wrong way that's all." Smiling back Dr. Rinka closed her eyes and I did the same. This time I had a firm hold on my memories and I made sure nothing got in the way. "Please lift the pillow in front of you." When we had first come in I was disappointed to learn that the pillow was not for my butt but now I see its intended purpose.

I focused on the pillow without opening my eyes and willed it to lift up. I heard a small gasp and opened my eyes to see the pillow, Dr. Rinka, and a nearby crate floating in the air. Opps.

I tried to sit her down gently by drawing the power back inside of myself but that wasn't working either. "If you continue to do that you will create a singularity inside yourself which will not be pleasant. Why don't you try breathing before you pass out and see if that will help?" she said this with a touch of amusement and without regard to the fact she was hovering in the air.

Deciding to follow her advice and not make a snarky comment turned out to be the trick I need. As I let out a large breath the green glow that filled the room slowly dwindled and everything returned to the ground softly.

Giving me a small round of applause, Dr. Rinka commented, "Not everyone is able to lift and then drop things so smoothly the first couple of times. You are doing very well. Do you feel that hum from the biotics when you use them? Trace that hum back inside your body to see where it goes. That will be your node and you can draw on it at any time. Most people use the biotic amp in the back of their neck as their node."

The "hum" was actually pretty easy to follow and ended up being centered within my bones. Now that I had noticed it, my biotic power seemed to spark to life thanks to the attention and made my bones practically vibrate with energy.

The feeling of your bones vibrating inside your body can be a little disconcerting so I decided to ignore it and hope it went away. Thankfully it did quite quickly, so I informed Dr. rinka of what happened, "My core is my bones. My power lies in them. So I know stem cells grow in my bones. Does that mean stem cells are the source of biotic power? What IS the source of biotic power?"

Dr. Rinka's eyes crinkled up into a smile at that, "You definitely do have a scientist's curiosity I see. However, no, the sources of our biotics lay in small element zero nodes throughout our skin. A biotic amp helps users control that power by funneling it through one source. I will inform you of more of the theory tomorrow but today you should practice lifting only one object. When you have I will bring you dinner."

She then left me with a look of complete dismay on my face. Oh great. I then tried to concentrate on lifting the pillow but after the third time of lifting the couches I was starting to get hungry and bored.

"Marc do I have a biotic amp in my neck too?"

"PING. No."

"Well…that was a brief answer…usually you love to go on about my body…that sounded wrong…are you upset about something?"

"PING. No."

"Oh Marcus. You talked my head off as soon as you could back down in that lab. Now I can't seem to get you to say more than one word. What's wrong?"

"PING. I traveled for 50,000 years in my own form but now I am inside your head. It is what organics would call 'cramped' in here."

"Oh. Well then. Well how about I just tell the crew you are my pet VI and that way you can travel around in your own little body without anyone knowing. People still don't trust AI's though so keep that on the down low. Okay?"

"PING. I will transfer some of my power through the omni-tool so people believe I originate from there."

"Good idea I didn't think of that. If you want you can stay in the omni-tool when you are not corporeal; mostly so you don't feel squished inside my head all the time. Add any programs you think someone of this time frame would have on there. I might have looked suspicious when Dr. Rinka gave it to me."

"There is a 70% chance she viewed your actions as unusual so I will follow your suggestion."

Sighing, I went back to raising the pillow. After several hours (I checked my omni-tool several times) I finally got the hang of only moving the pillow.

The trick is to use my hands as if they were a biotic amp. Like a levy system, as the energy flowed through my arms I slowed how much came through until the power that was at my fingertips and went out to the pillow was only the power I needed to lift the pillow.

Overjoyed, I told Marc to ping Dr. Rinka and tell her I had done it. A few minutes later both Dr. Rinka and Niara came in to see the show. I explained to them my trick and then demonstrated it. They clapped like the captive audience they were and then we all went to get some dinner laughing.

Overall, today was good: I figured out a life plan, I found that there really were nice people in this galaxy, and I even started to learn how to control my biotics. Tomorrow I will research Shepard and hope springs eternal on that front. Not too shabby.


	5. Chapter 5: My hope spring is dry

Chapter 5: My hope spring is dry

Before I had gone to sleep last night I had instructed Marcus to wake me up at a decent hour so I could get some research in before Dr. Rinka came back. Marcus claimed that she had first come in the other day around 9:00am Standard Galatic Time or SGt for short, and in order to give myself plenty of time to do some research I had Marcus wake me up around 7:30.

Groggily, I padded over to the doctors terminal in little more than a spare set of standard issue pj's and soft moccasins that were definitely not standard issue but Rebecca (the pilot) definitely didn't look up to answering questions when she left them at the med-bay last night. A quick wave of my arm with the omni-tool across the touch keyboard brought up all the keys and turned the screen on.

I minimized the windows with crew medical records and found an extranet window already up. Typing in "Commander Shepard Alliance" turned up all the answers I needed to whether he was a renegade or not. The first article was "Butcher of Torfan doesn't regret" and the next one was "Are soldiers becoming too cruel: the in-depth study of Torfan."

The page continued with many more articles and even a wiki page on a "Commander John Shepard Alliance navy." Honestly, I found it hard to choose whether I was more surprised about Wikipedia still existing or the fact that the layout had not changed in the past few hundred years.

With a sinking heart, I felt my hope spring go dry as I admitted to myself that Commander Shepard was in fact male, no he is not a transvestite, and yes he is a renegade. I quietly sighed to myself and exited the many windows I had accumulated in the past 15 minutes.

I stopped, however, when I got back to the original search engine to find that I had read through 20 pages of links. Blinking rapidly, I checked and noticed that it was true. In 15 minutes I had gone through over 200 webpages.

"Marcus, What the hell?"

"PING. To answer your oh so elegant question: Your brain has been hardwired to process data at faster speeds than most organics can process. If needed data can be stored in the memory banks for later retrieval."

I swear if you could picture an old English butler, accent and all, looking disapprovingly down at you this would be how Marcus sounded in my head.

"So your saying I could read a whole book and you would record it and later I could recite the thing word for word? Awesome! I will never have to study again!"

"PING. That is not the intended purpose for this aspect of your anatomy. The intended purpose is in the case of you needing to recall sensitive mission details without a hard copy. Excellent for undercover missions and grab-and-go missions."

"Wow. I swear you could make basket weaving sound 'vital to the mission'. Don't you think about all the possibilities that this body has? Now that I am stuck with it I can't stop. Think about it: biotics, a perfect memory AND I bet you have some pretty cool tech skills right? *nudge, wink* "

"PING. I don't have a basis for 'pretty cool' but yes, I do have certain skills that will come in handy fighting synthetics. Now that I am based in your omni-tool I can overload their hardware or even take them over for a brief amount of time. The most important offence is a good defence so my main use in combat will be defensive."

"Did you just quote a fridge magnet at me? What are you my father?"

At that memories came in of a much younger me learning to kick and punch for the first time. My father stood next to me teaching me how to stand and keep my guard up, "Common kiddo, the best offence is a good defense. That way you save yourself a punch in the face."

"Oops sorry Marc, spaced out for a second. So you can control geth? Sweet! But I was wondering if you can do that cool tech armor that sentinels have in the game? That stuff was way useful and more my style. If I ever need to fight that is. What do you think?"

"PING. I will look into it but right now I do not have that function."

I distantly heard my omni-tool come to life and start buzzing with activity but I ignored it in the search of food. I like to pride myself on being adaptable to different circumstances and I took the idea of an AI being inside my head as if I had my very own English butler who just lived really close by.

Munching on a ham and pickle sandwich I considered the fact that a renegade Shepard might not be all that bad. I definitely picked some of the renegade options myself because they were cooler or more fun. Even though I mostly picked paragon options I did notice that the renegade ones usually had a point to them and got the job done just as well as I did even with my moral high ground.

So Shepard may be an ass but he might have good reason for it. So many people are jerks just because they feel like it but if Shepard is an asshole because it gets the job done then he may not be too hard to work for…Maybe.

The next few days were spent eating, sleeping and practicing my biotics. On the fourth night before we landed on Thessia I awoke the whole crew with a nightmare.

It was an old nightmare that I had ever since my mom's death. I would be around 8 years old running through the backyard trying to catch up with my mom. She would run faster and faster and I could never catch her and even if I fell down or tripped she wouldn't stop or look back.

This time was different because part of my mind knew I had biotics and so I used them without realizing it was a dream. In my mind I was small, scared, crying and I just wanted to hold my mom's hand no matter what.

I was jolted back to reality when a cool blue hand rested on my arm and gently shook me awake. I sat up quickly and looked into the eyes of Niara. She made soft comforting noises as I finished crying and set all the beds down that had lifted from my use of biotics. "What is wrong little one? Was it a bad dream?" she spoke in a soft comforting voice that indicated she held no judgment against me. Afraid of what I could and could not say I just nodded my head and said the bare minimum, "My memories keep bothering me."

Niara smiled and went to sit on the bed next to my legs and gently moved her hand from my arm to grip my hand in a loose comforting grip. "My mother is a matriarch of some years and she is very knowledgeable on the arts of the mind. Many species go to her for assistance in managing what is on their mind. She can help them suppress memories, bring back old memories, or even get rid of some memories entirely. After I first joined the military she taught me a trick to help me keep in control of my memories so they would not haunt me like they do for so many soldiers. If you would like I can teach you this trick to help keep your memories in control. I promise I will be discreet."

I stared down at our joined hands thinking over what she was offering me. If what she said was true I wouldn't be burdened with recalling my past life all the time and could move on with the one thrust upon me. However, the fact that she would see my memories and realize I had come from a different time and what I know will come to past is dangerous. As kind as Niara has been to me I still don't know too much about her and she may not take the news well.

So the choice was between trusting a friendly stranger or be burdened with my past. I knew that if I turned down her offer Niara would think no differently of me she was just that nice.

Sighing I replied, "I would like to learn this technique please but could you promise not to tell anyone?" Niara smiled the brightest smile I had seen in days and nodded her head, "I promise. Now this may be a little strange for you at first but think of it as if you are watching a vid. Your memories will go by as early as you can remember and when you feel like cutting them off just say so and I will help you. In the end you will have separate folders or boxes, whatever suits your imagination, full of certain memories. Just to give you an example, I picture my memories put into small boxes and one of them is called boot camp. At any time I can meditate and bring forth those memories by focusing on that particular box. This technique not only helps one deal with painful memories but also recall happy ones. Are you ready?" Nodding my head, Niara looked into my eyes and said, "Embrace eternity."

Have you ever stuck your foot in mud on the side of a river and you know there has to be a bottom to the mud but you start doubting that assumption when you are up to your knees in mud? This was like that sensation of sinking but it was internally like you were the mud and someone else was the foot pulling us both down.

I ended up in a gray area with a small blue ball of energy standing next to me. Call me crazy but I sort of felt like Harry Potter when he went to that train station in his mind. Except my train station was a simple living room with a tv in front of a couch and nothing else. If I tried to focus the walls became gray blurry substances that felt too real but not real at the same time.

Looking away from the disconcerting walls, I realized the blue ball of energy was motioning me to sit on the couch. I sat down and realized there was someone missing.

"Where is Marcus? Marcus!"

I received no answer and no matter how much I might dislike a small voice inside my head that was not my own, I had gotten used to the thing.

When the tv turned on I was expecting almost anything but apparently I was not ready enough for the face of my mother staring back at me through the screen. Startled, I stood up quickly but just as quickly sat back down when I realized that she was not in the room but in an old video on the screen.

The shot was from a strange angle as if I was lying down on the ground and my mother stood next to my body and was peering at me from the side. With a flash of understanding, I realized this must be a memory of me in the crib and my mother stood looking at me from the side.

I calmed down and sank into the couch cushions feeling a mixture of lingering shock, unease, and even a sort of calmness. The whole experience had a little bit of an out of body feeling (ha) because all though I recognized some of the images flashing across the screen as memories, the whole thing just felt like I was re-watching my favorite movie and not my own life.

The images started to go faster and speed up until at the age of 6 I began to see the rift between my parents. At this point I spoke for the first time during this strange experience, "Niara can you cut it off here? This will go into my mind as Early Childhood."

The glowing blue ball next to me shone a little brighter and then dimmed to a calming shade of blue. On the Tv screen the memories faded as if the movie had ended. Before I could speak up again, the movie continued but these memories made me glad I was watching from a safe distance.

Watching your family come apart was not fun and I am not ashamed to say I cried after my mother's death at which point I again signaled Niara to draw the line. I morbidly called those memories The Dark Ages and was very glad when they got sealed up and put away. This process continued on two more times: once after a teenage party after which I decided never to go back to the karate dojo again and another time right before Marcus had kidnapped me leaving my old life behind.

I am not sure how long the whole process took for there were 18 years of memories to go through but at the same time it seemed like only a few hours had passed in that strange grey living room. Thankfully, it seemed like Niara could not speak in the shape of a glowing blue ball but that didn't mean I could not feel her shock when she saw what time I was from and what had happened to me.

The movie marathon ended when I first got back to the ship and at that the memories faded to black. I was afraid to see what Niara thought of all that had happened because she was one of the few people whose opinion I truly cared about. The movie was silent and so you couldn't hear what I was thinking at the time or how I felt but Niara would still be able to piece together a lot from a silent movie.

I turned slowly to the small blue ball of energy and asked, "Can we leave now?" My only answer was the sinking feeling and opening my eyes to the dimly lit med-bay. Niara didn't look amazed or angry or even shocked which I was expecting. Instead she looked thoughtful, "May I tell Rinka? She is my bondmate and I don't like keeping such big secrets from my bondmate, though if you want I will keep silent. I would not believe it is you had said you were from the past but memories that strong cannot lie. I am sorry about what happened to you and would like to offer my help."

My eyes once again watering I said, "Thank you for understanding and you have helped so much as it is, I could not ask you for any more. You and Dr. Rinka are way too kind to a stranger. If there is anything I can do for you guys in return please tell me."

Niara smiled, squeezed my hand and went to stand up replying, "It has been no problem and we are glad to help. Rinka and I have taken a liking to you and so we are plenty happy to offer you any help you need. However, I do have one question: May I meet this VI you have in your head?"

I was about to correct her mistake realizing that since the movie was silent she would not have heard Marcus speak, the AI himself spoke up in my head for the first time that evening.

"PING. At this point in time many organics fear and distrust synthetic AI's. I would suggest keeping silent on this matter until this information is necessary to unfold. If I may suggest that you tell Niara only that I am a battle VI designed to help administer medi-gel, keep track of your surroundings, and as a battle drone at times. This way we have the element of surprise if she turns against us later."

"Marcus! They have been only nice to me and you suspect hem of stabbing us in the back, that is not very chivalrous of you."

"PING. I do not possess any function that can be labeled as 'chivalrous'."

"Well come out anywho."

Niara started a little when next to the bed Marcus appeared apparently out of thin air. I think the real surprise came from the fact that I hadn't even looked at my omni-tool let alone touched it in order for him to appear and not the sudden apparition of physical technology.

As Marcus expected, she was wary of its nature and making sure it was not an AI but Marcus held his own against the interrogation and after about 10 minutes Niara ran out of questions for the time being. At this point I put in my two cents, "I found it weird and intrusive at first but now he is actually quite comforting and very helpful. I am not used to all of this new technology and Marcus here makes it easier to seem as if I was raised with omni-tools and space ships not cellphones and cars run on gas.

Giving a fake shudder to express her horror at the very idea, Niara left after giving me a hug and wishing me goodnight. I voiced my thanks as she was going out the door but all I received was a wave and that was it. Overall, the night had ended much better than it had started.

"PING. I still do not advice trusting her completely. She knows too much already and may jeopardize our safety if she tells."

"Marcus stop being such a worry wart and focus on more important things like how tomorrow I am going to be on an alien planet for the first time! OMG I am so excited. Let's get some more rest, tomorrow should be a big day."

With that statement I expected to be too excited to sleep but not so. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was out; apparently, cleaning out your psyche is hard work and tiring.


End file.
